Help Him Have His Best Summer Ever

As instinctively as a kid freed by a ringing school bell sprints into three months of vacation, the man in your life will take sunshine as his clarion call to charge out and play hard, often with little or no forethought (or sunblock, for that matter) into his favorite summer activities. Oh, he'll survive a sunburned nose or a pulled muscle, but why not help him steer clear of both in the first place?

Ultimately, the responsibility for avoiding these pitfalls rests on his shoulders. But as his wife, girlfriend, sister, or daughter, you can help him; and we at Men's Healthmagazine can help you ensure that this summer is not only his best ever but also his healthiest ever. Here's how:

Avoidsunburn. Keep him safe from that yellow orb that he'll beworshipping, especially since the American Cancer Society says that men will account for 64 percent of the more than 8,000 people who will die from melanoma in 2007. That means covering him up with a sunscreen designed to ward off UVA and UVB raysalike. How strong should your guard be? Ninety-three percent of UVB rays won't make it past sunblock labeled SPF 15. (By the way, SPF 30 doesn't double your coverage. That would block 97 percent.) One ounce, equaling two tablespoons, should provide sufficient coverage. Apply the first coat a half an hour before he steps outside and repeat every hour or two. If a dip in the pool or ocean figures into his fun in the sun, choosewaterproof or water-resistant formulas.

Tune out the noise.When The Who passes through town for yet another farewell tour this summer, you don’t want him ending up with impaired hearing like Pete Townsend just by listening to Teenage Wasteland. Sound measuring above 85 decibels is enough to damage your drums, says Sam Levine, M.D., a professor of otology at the University of Minnesota. Unfortunately, at 110-120 decibels, rock concerts are as loud as airport runways. (According to Guinness World Records, The Who, in fact, gave the loudest performance ever -- 126 decibels, in the 1970s, although some fans ears are probably still ringing.) A cheap, easy solution: ER-20 High Fidelity earplugs, which won’t distort the music,according to Cathy Peck, founder of Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (HEAR).

Prevent backache. If Chevy Chase has a bad back, it isn’t from all his imitation Gerald Ford pratfalls during the ’70s, but from time spent driving the Griswold family cross-country. He’s not alone: Men drive nearly 33 percent more than women, on average, leading to another sobering stat: those driving at least 25,000 miles a year average 22 days of missed work because a bad back, versus slightly more than 3 days for those log fewer miles. Is it any wonder men have twice as many back surgeries as women do? So before the rubber meets the road this summer, make sure his postural muscles (the abs and lower back) are sufficiently strong to go the distance. When he’s behind the wheel, it’s a good idea for him to try this stretch, says Jim Leo, a certified strength and conditioning specialist with Pit Fit Training in Indianapolis: Once an hour, draw the navel toward the spine and hold for 15 seconds before releasing. Continue alternating for 1 to 2 minutes total, breathing normally.

Prevent backache. If Chevy Chase has a bad back, it isn't from all his imitation Gerald Ford pratfalls during the '70s, but from time spent driving the Griswold family cross-country. He's not alone: Men drive nearly 33 percent more than women, on average, leading to another sobering stat: those driving at least 25,000 miles a year average 22 days of missed work because a bad back, versus slightly more than 3 days for those log fewer miles. Is it any wonder men have twice as many back surgeries as women do? So before the rubber meets the road this summer, make sure his postural muscles (the abs and lower back) are sufficiently strong to go the distance. When he's behind the wheel, it's a good idea for him to try this stretch, says Jim Leo, a certified strength and conditioning specialist with Pit Fit Training in Indianapolis: Once an hour, draw the navel toward the spine and hold for 15 seconds before releasing. Continue alternating for 1 to 2 minutes total, breathing normally.

Drink up. Staying properly hydrated is a particularly important summer survival strategy for men; after all, they account for 66 percent of all deaths caused by extreme heat, according to CDC data. No one should wait until they are thirsty to drink water -- by then you're already dehydrated. “Have two cups of juice, iced tea, or water first thing in the morning, before your morning coffee," says Ingrid Skoog, M.S., R.D., director of sports nutrition at the University of Oregon. Just keep sipping after that. "I go to Costco, buy five cases of bottled water, and leave one in the car," says Kleiner. Also, down 20 ounces an hour before undertaking any cardio workout.

Eat watermelon. Another hydration solution is periodically munching on a 1-inch slice of watermelon. Along with being 92 percent water, that single slice contains as much prostate-protecting lycopene as he'll find in four medium-size tomatoes. Talk about a win-win: lycopene also boosts his skin's natural SPF and lowers bad cholesterol.

Skip the soda. And serve iced tea instead. The polyphenols and other disease-fighting antioxidants in tea are equally potent in hot or cold water, says Jane Higdon, Ph.D., of the Linus Pauling Institute of Complementary and Alternative Medicine at Oregon State University. Sink a few bags in a pitcher of water. Set it on a windowsill for several hours. Add a splash of lime juice. Refrigerate before serving.

You booze, you lose -- unless you drink in moderation. Recent studies show that light drinking decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease by more than one-third. Yet a new Danish study shows that while women can imbibe those one to two glasses only once a week to experience heart-health benefits, men need to drink them daily. Once he exceeds those drinking limits, however, alcohol turns from help to hindrance. A study in the Canadian health journal CMAJ found that January sees the highest alcohol consumption among men overall, but phone-survey data collected by the CDC found that seasonal consumption varies by race, with drinking among Hispanic men peaking in June -- just when summer heats up.

Stop that itch. The best way to soothe a savage sting, of course, is to not get stung in the first place. Men have more active sweat glands than women do, but becoming a human salt lick after a summer workout likely doesn't matter where mosquitoes are concerned. All mosquitoes love stagnant water, but only a few rare types, including yellow-fever mosquitoes, gravitate to perspiration, according to Ulrich R. Bernier, a chemist with the ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology's Mosquito and Fly Research Unit in Gainesville, Florida. So break a sweat but do it during the day -- dusk till dawn is the peak biting time for these little vampires. Once he's been bitten, ice should be your first line of defense, says Dirk M. Elston, M.D., a dermatologist with the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania. During the first six hours post-bite, apply an ice pack over the wound for 15 to 20 minutes on the hour. What doesn't work? Those ultrasound gadgets designed to scare off mosquitoes, according to the CDC.

Swim safely. Accidental drowning gains awareness when it takes the life of a pro athlete (football great Joe Delaney) or a rock star (Jeff Buckley), but it claims 3,000 lesser-known victims a year in the United States, 80 percent of who are male. This could be because men tend to overrate their swimming abilities and may take more risks. They also have more opportunities to drown: They spend double the amount of days women do with activities involving boats, fishing, scuba diving, or surfboarding, and are more likely to swim alone or at night -- both of which elevate risk. To avoid suffering Buckley's tragic fate, tell your man to cast an eye for ripcurrents. "Scan for differences in the appearance of the water," says Jim Lubner, Ph.D., a water-safety specialist at the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. "The effect of the rip going out is to 'smooth' waves coming in, and this ribbon of water should stand out." Look for a break in the waves that appears darker and smoother than the surrounding water. He should be doubly wary in frigid water, which makes it harder to swim by reducing bloodflow to the arms and legs. "The body wants to maintain heat in the core," adds Lubner.

Find shades. The right pair of sunglasses can protect your vision and increase his cool-quotient. According to a study in Archives of Ophthalmology, eyes unshielded from the sun are at the [greatest risk for age-related macular degeneration, a condition eventually leading to blindness. That said, help him choose a stylish pair that suits him. Leave the Bono look to Bono. “The right eyewear emphasizes your best features,” explains optician Rene Soltis, a spokeswoman for the Vision Council of America. Aviators can balance a wide jaw, for example, while frames with clean lines and sharp corners pair well with a round face. Regardless, proper fit is crucial. “Even fashionably oversized frames should rest solely on your nose and temples, not your cheeks,” says Soltis.

Get busy.If you want to bear children, summer is when he should be fertilizing you, not the lawn. One study in the December 2006 issue of Human Fertilityfound that women who underwent in vitro fertilization between April and September were one-third more likely to become pregnant as a fall-and-winter group. One theory: The more the sun shines, the less melatonin your body produces. That hormone interferes with ovulation.

Go amphibious with your exercise. Ever wonder why swimmers maintain such great year-round conditioning? Water sports are a highly efficient method of burning calories and body fat. Compare these aquatic workouts with running at an 8-minute-mile pace (512 calories), tennis (287 calories), and biking at moderate pace (328 calories). (Read "Swim Safely" before attempting any of these sports.)

Calories burned by a 180-pound man in 30 minutes:

Butterfly 451

Freestyle (fast) 410

Freestyle (slow) 287

Breaststroke 410

Sidestroke 328

Water jogging 328

Backstroke 287

Dog paddling 246

Treading water 164

Water polo 410

Water volleyball 123

Waterskiing 246

Scuba diving 287

Snorkeling 205

Kayaking 205

Paddle boating 164

Canoeing 144

Sailing 123

Power boating 103

Bent into shape. This will come as no surprise to anyone who's taken a yoga class, but strength-and-conditioning experts say most men are less flexible than most women. Probably doesn't surprise you. What might, though, is that lifting weights improves flexibility, rather than diminishing it, as stereotypes about becoming muscle-bound would suggest. One caveat: He should stretch at least 15 minutes before or, better yet, after his workout, because static stretches will decrease the amount of force he can produce for 15 minutes. What's more, performing more than one set of a particular stretch at one time is inefficient. Instead, spread three sets of the same stretch over an entire day. One set in the morning, one at work, and one more before bed should do the trick.

Get out and play. French researchers recently found that burning off a belly is all about frequency. When comparing total calories burned weekly, aerobic fitness level, and average exercise intensity in older men, the researchers discovered that those who simply spent the most time moving had the leanest midsections, regardless of what they were actually doing. The magic formula was four hours of exercise spread over three to four days a week. We don't know about your husband or boyfriend, but we'd like to spend those four hours playing a sport like soccer or basketball, rather than working the treadmill like a gerbil in a metal cylinder. Pick-up soccer appears to be particularly effective at torching lard. According to a new study in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, competitors in a pick-up game kept their heart rate above 80 percent of their max heart rate for 91 percent of the time. “Even during periods where you're not running as hard, your heart rate stays elevated because soccer requires constant changing of directions,” says study author Carlo Castagna, Ph.D., of Italy's University of Rome.

Sculpt your body on clay. Tennis is still another great way to burn calories, especially if you play on clay, which lends itself to longer volleys than hard surfaces. Clay may not be Roger Federer's favorite playing surface, but it results in slower-moving shots, more distance traveled on foot, and more total calories burned, according to researchers at Canada's McGill University. Visit ustasearch.com to locate the court nearest you.

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